What is ESP? When reading this article, I learnt that to be able to teach an ESP, you have to take into account not only the subject the students are learning and supply them with a vocabulary list, but investigate their needs with the options you might have: pass a questionnaire to the students could be a good tool, ask other teachers they have, attend lectures of the area you are teaching, etc. I already knew that ESP is a really hard job to do, because as the article says, it is more than explaining general grammar. You must know or learn from the area of specification the students come from, and create a course that will probably only work for that specific group of people. That is one of the reasons why I joined this course, to learn more about ESP and how to teach it. While General English focuses on the English that people use in our everyday world, in situations we have to face, for example, in the street when asked for directions, or when watching a movie, ESP focuses in a very specific language and vocabulary that it is used by different professionals in various areas: doctors use certain words and expressions related to illnesses, lawyers talk about trials in court, or scientists in labs. They all use completely different words in theirs jobs. When designing and teaching an ESP course, you must deal with all these differences and be aware of all the needs the students will have and the flaws they will have to overcome. Other acronyms that appear in the article: ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages ESL: English as a Second Language EFL: English as a Foreign Language MA: Master’s Degree FIT: Free independent traveler I really think that what it is usually taught in ESP classes is vocabulary and expressions that the people doing the course will need in their jobs, but as the article explains, more that that has to be done for a good teacher to succeed in his/her goal to design a good course.
When reading this article, I learnt that to be able to teach an ESP, you have to take into account not only the subject the students are learning and supply them with a vocabulary list, but investigate their needs with the options you might have: pass a questionnaire to the students could be a good tool, ask other teachers they have, attend lectures of the area you are teaching, etc.
I already knew that ESP is a really hard job to do, because as the article says, it is more than explaining general grammar. You must know or learn from the area of specification the students come from, and create a course that will probably only work for that specific group of people. That is one of the reasons why I joined this course, to learn more about ESP and how to teach it.
While General English focuses on the English that people use in our everyday world, in situations we have to face, for example, in the street when asked for directions, or when watching a movie, ESP focuses in a very specific language and vocabulary that it is used by different professionals in various areas: doctors use certain words and expressions related to illnesses, lawyers talk about trials in court, or scientists in labs. They all use completely different words in theirs jobs.
When designing and teaching an ESP course, you must deal with all these differences and be aware of all the needs the students will have and the flaws they will have to overcome.
Other acronyms that appear in the article:
ESOL: English for Speakers of Other Languages
ESL: English as a Second Language
EFL: English as a Foreign Language
MA: Master’s Degree
FIT: Free independent traveler
I really think that what it is usually taught in ESP classes is vocabulary and expressions that the people doing the course will need in their jobs, but as the article explains, more that that has to be done for a good teacher to succeed in his/her goal to design a good course.